


"learn how to duck, kid"

by VillainousTalking (rainbowshoes)



Series: pray for the wicked [5]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bullying, Flash is an Asshole, M/M, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Bucky Barnes, fighting at school, sorry - Freeform, unflattering nicknames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 07:36:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15967706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowshoes/pseuds/VillainousTalking
Summary: why can't flash just leave peter alone? seriously? just for one day? is that really too much to ask? well, maybe so, but at least peter has bucky on his side, and that has to count for something, right? (it so totally does)





	"learn how to duck, kid"

Bucky isn't doing much of anything when Tony calls him. He's just finished up running through an expansive circuit in Tony's ridiculous gym on the equipment Tony built specifically for Steve. He's had his shower, and now he's just relaxing and trying to decide which movie he wants to watch from the long list Tony gave him a while ago. There are certain movies he can only watch if Tony is there with him, but there's plenty more to choose from. He hasn't made up his mind when he hears his phone ring. 

It's odd for a few reasons. The first is that almost no one calls him. The second is that Tony certainly  _ shouldn't  _ be calling him, since it's the middle of the night in China right now. The third is that he can't figure why Tony would voice call him and not try to video call him. It's not like Bucky can really do much if Tony really needs anything right now, anyway.

“Doll?” Bucky asks when he answers. 

“Hey.” Tony sounds exhausted. He doesn't sleep well on planes, so he'd just stayed awake and worked on the flight to China, and then his entire day had been filled with stuff for SI. It isn't often that Tony has to go somewhere and make an appearance there himself, but he'd made the exception this time. Bucky's pretty sure it has something to do with the arc reactor they're installing. Tony doesn't really trust anyone with too much information about that technology - and for good reason.

“Everything okay?” Bucky asks carefully. 

“Peter's school just called me. Something happened and they need someone to go sit in on a meeting with the principal and the counselor. I'm not sure what, they mentioned something about a fight? Doesn't really sound like Peter, but I was mostly asleep. I called May, and she's calling the school to get permission for you to go. She can't. Something about the hospital and a quarantine.”

“Oh-okay,” Bucky stutters slightly. He realizes belatedly that he's already sitting ramrod straight, so he stands and heads for the master bedroom to change. “Should I call May?”

“Mhm,” Tony mumbles sleepily. “Good plan.”

“Sleep, doll,” Bucky whispers. “I'll take care of this.” He ends the call and takes a deep breath. “FRIDAY, can you call May Parker for me?”

“Sure thing,” FRIDAY says cheerfully. “Want it over the speakers?”

“Yes, please, and thank you.” Bucky walks into the ridiculously large closet and stares at his side. He still finds it hard to comprehend sometimes that he has an entire half of Tony's closet filled with clothes, but he doesn't worry too much about it anymore. 

“Hello?” May asks just as Bucky grabs a pair of black jeans. 

“Mrs. Parker, it's Bucky,” he says. He's met her twice now, and he's pretty sure she's a little afraid of him. Not that he blames her. “Tony just called. He's in China right now, but he said something was going on with Peter at school?”

“Yeah,” May sighs. “The school called me first, but I'm stuck at the hospital. They've got us in a quarantine right now. No idea when they'll lift it. But the counselor said something about Peter being in a fight, and he wanted me to come to a meeting with Peter and the other kid and that kid's parents. I told them I couldn't and suggested they call Tony instead. Then Tony called me, and I guess you're going now?”

“Looks like it,” Bucky says quietly. He grabs a sage green henly that Tony really likes and tugs that on, then he grabs his black leather jacket and his boots. He carries them both to the bench along the foot of the bed and tosses them across it before grabbing some socks. “Do you know who the other kid is? Or what happened?”

“The counselor said Peter was in a fight with this kid named Flash. Flash is...well, he's a bully. I've asked Peter before if Flash had ever hurt him, and he said no. I've offered a dozen times to go to the school and do something about this kid, but Peter just kept saying he could handle it. And...well. With who he is now, I know he can stand up to a bully without any problems, but Peter's never been in trouble for fighting before. I don't even know what really happened.” May sighs, and she sounds utterly exhausted and worried sick. 

“I'll find out,” Bucky swears. “I'll make sure they don't try to blame all this on Peter, too.” Bucky remembers how things used to be when he was in school. Sure, things are bound to be a little different now, but probably not by a whole lot. Bucky used to get in trouble for fighting a lot - he had to defend Steve every time he turned around. “Anything I need to know before I go there?”

“I think you've got all I can give you,” May says. “Just let me know how it all goes? And tell me if Peter's hurt. I know he heals fast, but I still worry about him.”

“I will,” Bucky promises. May thanks him and ends the call quickly. Bucky gets his socks and boots on, then he straps his knives carefully in place. He knows he probably shouldn't take any of them on the school campus, but he feels naked without his weapons, and he's already sacrificing his guns. 

“Your bike is waitin’ for you in the garage,” FRIDAY says as Bucky slides the last knife into place. He flashes a thin smile at the wall where he knows one of her cameras are. Tony had only just finished installing all of them last month so FRIDAY could have full access to the new penthouse apartment. “Anythin’ else ya need?”

“No, but thanks FRIDAY,” Bucky says. Tony gets a kick out of how polite Bucky is to FRIDAY, but he'd never be any other way to her. She's a person - she just doesn't have a body the way they do. Bucky fully believes that. He grabs his wallet and keys from the island in the kitchen as he leaves the penthouse.

During the elevator ride down, Bucky takes a few deep breaths and settles himself. He can see himself in the reflection on the doors, and he hates how utterly blank he looks, but it's the only way he can keep himself fully in control. He slides his eyes shut for the last several seconds of the ride and searches for the place in his mind that exists between who he is naturally and who HYDRA turned him into. It's a balancing act, but one he's become very good at.

He barely registers any of the drive to Peter's school. He typically enjoys riding his bike, but it's just a means of transportation for now. He'll try to come out of his head a little for the ride back, but he needs to be calm and one hundred percent in control right now. No accidentally breaking anything.

He notices the curious and open stares as he parks his bike and walks up the stairs to the front of the school. He doesn't directly look at anyone, but from the corner of his eye, he can see them whispering about him, and he watches as people fall still and silent when he passes.

As soon as he enters the school, he finds the signs that point him to the office. The woman behind the desk looks more than a little wary of him as he approaches. He can't blame her for that, really. He knows he isn't really the most approachable person.

“I'm here about Peter Parker,” he tells her. “I'm...Bucky. Bucky Barnes.” He feels weird telling people who he is, even now. The woman’s eyes widen, but she doesn't say anything about the mess he was accused of at the UN a couple years ago. The media was corrected eventually, and the world was told that he wasn't actually the one behind the bombing, but there's some other half-cooked story out there about the whole thing. Bucky didn't pay much of it any attention, and he doesn't care to know more than he absolutely has to. It isn't the truth, he knows that, but so few things are these days.

“If I can just see your ID, sir?” the secretary asks. Bucky nods and internally commends her for asking for it, even if she recognizes him. When he gives it to her, he watches as she swipes it through a scanner attached to her computer. He's really glad Tony had that taken care of for him, otherwise, he'd be using a fake. She gives it back with a plastered-on smile. “If you'll just go right down this hall, it's the second door on the left.” Bucky nods and tucks his ID back into his wallet. He walks away from the desk and thinks about how easy it would be to break into a place like this…

When he arrives at the correct door, he knocks twice. It opens a moment later, and Bucky sees Peter standing before him. He can't quite bring himself to smile, but Peter does. The kid has a black eye and there's blood down the front of his shirt, Bucky guesses from a bloody nose. 

“What the hell, kid?” Bucky asks. Peter steps back to let Bucky in the room. Bucky notices another kid off in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest and a petulant look on his face. That must be Flash.

“I'm okay, Mr. Barnes,” Peter says as he reclaims his seat. There are two more closed doors, Bucky realizes, though the secretary hadn't told him he was going to a small waiting room. “It's not as bad as it looks.”

Bucky just looks Peter up and down, noticing the scraped palms, the hole in his jeans, the blood on his shirt and crusted around his nose, the darkening bruise around the outside of his left eye, and the way he's leaning very slightly to the right, most likely because his ribs hurt. Peter heals fast, but not quite  _ that _ fast. He'll be sore for a day or two even if it isn't as bad as it looks. He hopes his look conveys all the unimpressed feelings he wants it to, though he doubts it. Peter still looks away in shame and slumps against the back of his chair, twisting his fingers anxiously in his lap.

“Real funny, penis,” the kid in the corner mutters, “getting someone who looks like the freaking Winter Soldier to show up for this pony show.” He scoffs and rolls his eyes, full of a pettier sort of dramatic show that Tony is all too good at. He kicks one leg out in front of himself and crosses his arms over his chest. 

“Just ignore him,” Peter mumbles to Bucky, tucking his chin close to his chest. “Shut up, Flash. You’ve already landed us here, so can you just not?” Bucky can see the irritation clear in tightness in Peter’s bunched shoulders. 

The door to one of the offices opens, and a tired-looking plump woman in a slightly worn pants suit gives Bucky a thin smile. Bucky stands when she offers him her hand. “You must be Mr. Barnes? I spoke with Mrs. Parker about you sitting in on today's meeting. We're still waiting on Mr. Thompson’s father to arrive, I'm afraid.”

“It's fine,” Bucky says, mostly because he's unsure of what else he should say in this situation. All the years of training he’s been through, all his experience, and he's never been prepared for sitting at a meeting at a school with a counselor for a kid he's currently teaching to fight. It doesn't exactly help that said kid is in trouble  _ for  _ fighting. “Mind telling me what happened?” That's what he really wants to know, after all, and he doesn't trust either of the kids to give him the truth.

“We'll take a look at the security footage during our meeting,” she says. “I'm Ms. Campbell, by the way. I understand you're one of Peter's mentors? That's what Mrs. Parker said…”

“Yes, ma'am,” Bucky says, even if he doesn't quite agree with that assessment. It's easier to just go along with the story May made up than try and come up with something on his own, though. 

The door to the little waiting room flies open, and Bucky automatically reaches out to prevent it from slamming into the wall. Ms. Campbell flinches slightly, for which Bucky feels a little guilty, but he didn't want the door to crack into the wall, either. He doesn't exactly like loud noises like that, and the reaction was more gut instinct than anything. The man that stomps into the room heads immediately for Flash, who looks a little more guilty now, but not by much. 

“What the hell, Eugene?” the man demands angrily. “What happened? I get a call about you being part of a fight while I'm in the middle of an important sale?”

“Mr. Thompson,” Ms. Campbell interrupts with a cool voice, “if we might take this to my office? I'd like to discuss everything in there, please.” She waits for Mr. Thompson to nod before walking over to her office door and holding it open. “Boys, you come in, too.” Peter stands and makes his way into the office first. Bucky follows close behind him. Mr. Thompson follows Flash. Once they're all seated around the round conference table in the mid-sized office, Ms. Campbell closes her door and takes the chair across from them all.

“I'd like for us to watch the security footage first,” she begins, “and then we can hear both sides of the story from the boys and discuss what happened.” She nods and clicks a few things on her laptop. When she spins it around, a video is already playing. It doesn't take long before things begin to happen. 

It looks like there are several students around the area, but Bucky can't say exactly where they all are. Flash looks to say something, then the kid beside Peter says something in return. Flash then proceeds to walk over to Peter and gets in his face to make another comment. Peter brings both hands up, palms out and flat in a defensive gesture. Flash then punches Peter in the face twice, and Peter falls to the ground. Shortly after, several adults intervene and break up the fight, and Ms. Campbell stops the video. 

“So, who would like to start?” she asks, eyeing Flash and Peter. Peter stares at the table and says nothing. Flash has his arms crossed over his chest again, but he's staring at the wall. 

“Well, it looks to me like this boy said something to set Flash off,” Mr. Thompson says in a snide tone. Bucky notices Peter stiffen beside him, but Peter doesn't speak up to defend himself.

“Mr. Parker?” Ms. Campbell asks. “Is that what happened?”

“No,” Peter says quietly.

“Shut it, Parker!” Flash snaps.

“Flash, you'll have your chance to speak. It's Peter's turn.” Ms. Campbell looks at Peter again. “Tell us what happened.”

“Ned and I were just walking back from homeroom,” Peter says quietly. “Then Flash tried to start up that stupid chant again, and Ned told him to knock it off. So Flash came over to me and said something really mean. I...don't want to repeat it. And I told him to just back off and leave us alone so we could go to class, but then he hit me.”

“That's bullshit, Parker!” Flash shouts. “I wasn't doing anything to you. You're the one who threatened to start a fight after school. I just started it sooner.” Flash looks self-righteous and so damn full of himself that it irritates Bucky just a little. He doesn't let it show, but he almost wants to.

“Parker threatened my son,” Mr. Thompson says, curling a hand around Flash's shoulder. “He had every right to defend himself.”

“No,” Ms. Campbell says as she shakes her head. “He should have reported it immediately and let us handle it rather than starting a fight. I don't see any evidence of Peter threatening Flash on that video, and when we spoke to the other students that witnessed the altercation, they supported Peter's version of events.” She looks to Bucky. “Anything to add, Mr. Barnes?”

“I can only tell you what I see,” Bucky says with a shrug. “Peter is the only one hurt. He has a black eye, had a bloody nose, has scrapes on his palms and knees, and never once threw a punch in that video.” Bucky shifts in his seat a little and looks at Flash. “He doesn't even have so much as scraped knuckles. I have a bit of a talent for reading lips. It's come in handy with...what I've done.” Ms. Campbell looks a little uncomfortable at that mention, so Bucky doesn't linger on that topic. “I could offer up an approximate transcript, but I'm not sure how reliable you'd find it.”

“I have plenty from the other students, but thank you,” Ms. Campbell says with a slight nod. “Flash, tell me, why do you insist on calling Peter such a degrading name? This isn't the first time I've had a discussion with you about it.” She looks at Mr. Thompson. “Flash likes to call Peter ‘Penis Parker.’”

Mr. Thompson looks at Flash, then at Peter, then at Bucky. “You're calling parents over a bit of name-calling now? For high schoolers?” Mr. Thompson scoffs. “This is a waste of my time.”

“Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, Mr. Thompson,” Ms. Campbell says slowly. “Fighting and bullying are against our very strict code of conduct. Perhaps Flash will learn his lesson with a week of suspension.”

“A week?” Flash asks, offended and angry.

“Yes,” Ms. Campbell says with a nod. 

“But that means -” Flash is half out of his seat when Ms. Campbell cuts him off.

“Yes, you'll be cut from all extracurriculars for the rest of the semester. I'm sorry, Flash, but those are the consequences for violating the code of conduct. Perhaps this will teach you to keep your unflattering comments to yourself.” She folds her hands together over the table. “As part of your punishment, I also expect you to write a three-page essay detailing why our code of conduct is important and why violating it generates such severe consequences. Perhaps that will allow you to reflect on what you've done. No essay, no return to school.”

“This is bullshit,” Flash mutters, throwing himself back into his chair. 

Ms. Campbell ignores Flash and looks at Peter. “Peter, you're also suspended. One day, away from school. You should have gone to a teacher instead of trying to handle this situation on your own. You only got hurt because of it. You also refused to give me the truth at first. I expect an essay from you as well. Two pages on why telling the truth is so important and how this situation could have been avoided.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Peter says quietly, still staring at the table.

“Mr. Thompson, Mr. Barnes, anything to add?” Ms. Campbell asks.

“Just a little clarity,” Bucky says. “You're punishing Peter even though he didn't have a chance to get away from this fight? He wasn't the one who asked Flash to stop - the other kid beside him was.”

Ms. Campbell looks put out by Bucky calling her out on that detail, but she looks down at her laptop and clicks around for a moment. Bucky watches as she looks at the first half of the video again, then pauses it and stares at Peter for a moment. 

“You're right, Mr. Barnes, Peter didn't say anything to Flash until after Flash was very close to him, and it appears he wasn't given much of a chance to walk away before Flash hit him. Peter, take a day instead to heal, okay? I do still want an essay, though. You're lying to me, and it's not helping you out any.” She frowns. “I also need to have a conversation with Mr

Leeds, it seems.”

“No, please,” Peter says, jerking up for the first time. “Leave Ned alone. He didn't do anything wrong. He just told Flash to stop, that's all.” 

“Ned should have gone to a teacher,” Ms. Campbell says sternly. “Peter, that's what I intend to tell him.”

Peter chews on his lip, but he doesn't say anything else. Bucky looks at Ms. Campbell. “You mind if I take Peter home to get some ice on that bruise?”

“In a moment,” Ms. Campbell sighs. “Would you two mind waiting in the hall? I'd like to speak to Flash and Mr. Thompson for a moment.” 

Bucky nods and stands. He looks to Peter and tries to subtly offer his hand, but Peter ignores him as he pushes out of his chair. When they get to the hall and Bucky closes the door behind them, Peter looks at Bucky with a big frown. 

“Why'd you have to say anything? Now Ned's gonna get in trouble!”

“Because that wasn't your fault,” Bucky says simply. “And he won't. She said she was only going to talk to him.”

“That's not how it works,” Peter says, his tone full of agony as he jerks a hand through his hair. 

“Peter, breathe,” Bucky says, his own voice cold and commanding, the way he usually is when he's teaching Peter how to fight. Peter responds to it well, at least, and stops to take a deep breath. “Again,” Bucky says, a little more gently this time. “Now, you gotta trust her just a little more than you are right now, okay? If she says she's only going to talk to him, that's all she's going to do. Ned didn't start that fight, Flash did.”

“Okay, okay,” Peter mumbles. “Sorry.”

“Gonna get you that ‘don't panic’ sign Tony was joking about,” Bucky mutters. Peter cracks a smile, and Bucky lets himself loosen up just a little. “Seriously, though, kid, what the hell? Why didn't you at least duck?”

“I never could before,” Peter says with a shrug. “Didn't want to suddenly know how to move in a fight and it seem suspicious.” He rubs at his arm and looks to the side. “Kinda hard to hold myself still like that, though.”

“Next time? Just duck,” Bucky sighs. “You can tell anyone who asks that you're learning martial arts. Lots of kids your age do that shit. Tony had you fake enrolled in a place and everything so you had a legit excuse for knowing shit.”

“He did?” Peter asks with wide eyes. Bucky nods. “Why? I mean...why not just tell anyone who asks the truth? That I'm learning from you?”

“Because what kind of responsible adult lets a regular kid fight with a super soldier that's a half-crazy former assassin, huh?” Bucky rolls his eyes. “Jeez, kid, I'd kill a regular person.”

“No you wouldn't,” Peter says. He says it with such utter conviction that it almost takes Bucky's breath away. “You're a good person. You wouldn't hurt anyone unless they were hurting you or someone you had to protect. Don't say bad things about yourself, Mr. Barnes.”

“It's Bucky, kid,” is all Bucky can get out, and even that takes a moment and a few thick swallows. 

Before another full minute passes, Mr. Thompson and Flash both come storming out of Ms. Campbell's office. She walks to the door and gives Bucky and Peter a tired smile. Bucky steps forward, but Ms. Campbell just waves him off.

“No need to to back in my office,” she says. “Peter, get some rest, okay? Don't worry about the essay, but please don't lie to me in the future. I'm going to speak with your friend Ned, but he isn't in trouble, okay? He just needs to know how to handle situations like that in the future. Mr. Barnes, thank you again for coming to sit in on this meeting. I know Mrs. Parker was stuck at the hospital, and apparently Mr. Stark is in another country?”

“China,” Bucky tells her. “He'll be back in a couple days if you wanna get ahold of ‘im.”

“No, that's quite all right,” she says with a small smile. “Mrs. Parker added you as a third emergency contact for Peter, so if a situation arises in the future, we'll have fewer hoops to jump through. There's some paperwork at the front desk you'll need to sign before you leave, but that's all.”

Bucky vaguely wonders if she realizes his address for here in the city is the same as Tony's, if she realizes they're lovers, despite the fact that they haven't made that information public knowledge yet. He doesn't particularly care, but Tony will want to know so he can tell Pepper and Pepper can set up the PR team to do damage control if the information gets out. Bucky might just call Pepper himself.

“I'll get that done,” Bucky says with a nod. “Anything else?”

“Well, perhaps you might want to teach Peter how to duck?” she says with a smile that crinkles up the corners of her eyes. Peter flushes bright red and ducks his head when Bucky eyes him. “Have a good afternoon. I'll see you Monday, Peter.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Peter squeeks. He scurries out of the little waiting area and Bucky follows after a short wave to the counselor. He stops by the desk to sign the papers she'd referenced and notices that Tony's address is on there, but his is listed as the Avenger's compound upstate, while Bucky's address is for the penthouse apartment in the city. Well, that's probably one crisis averted, but Bucky will still mention this to Pepper just in case. He's probably already been posted all over Instagram by now thanks to the kids at the front of the school when he walked in.

He and Peter leave, and Bucky shoves the spare helmet from the bag on the side of his bike over Peter's head. He climbs on first and Peter settles behind him. Bucky tells Peter to sit still and not to move and just hold on, then he starts the Triumph Bonneville T120 and drives away from the school. It takes a while to get back to the apartment, but Bucky doesn't mind since he's able to actually enjoy his ride this time. 

He and Peter go upstairs, and Bucky gets Peter an ice pack while Peter settles on the couch and video calls May. He's sure to tell her he's okay, but he's at least honest about the black eye and bloody nose. Bucky presses the ice pack to Peter's face while he's talking, and gives May a polite hello. May has to go, so Bucky and Peter decide on a tv show to watch.

“Thanks, Bucky,” Peter says a little later. “For coming to the school and for defending me.”

“No problem, kid.” Bucky smiles a little. “How ‘bout some lunch?” Peter grins, and they instantly begin a heated argument about what they'll have for lunch. It's fun and not at all angry, and Bucky enjoys every second of it, especially when he ends the argument by slapping his hand over Peter's mouth and having FRIDAY order from the Mexican place he likes. Peter retaliates by tackling Bucky to the floor with a laugh. Bucky can't remember ever really smiling as much as he does around Peter and Tony - certainly not since before the war. 

**Author's Note:**

> for @[narcissae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/narcissae/pseuds/narcissae)\- thank you for the prompt, love
> 
> [order a fic](https://shyglittercreature.tumblr.com/post/177982041187/now-accepting-prompts-for-winteriron-marvel#notes) from my [tumblr](https://shyglittercreature.tumblr.com/) if you want, but no promises on when it'll be finished 


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